1. Field of the Invention
SHIPS: SAILS AND RIGGING; Running Gear. TRAVELERS; Tension Relievers; Sail Trimmers.
2. Description of the Prior Art The quest for speed is the ultimate goal in many sports. This is also true in sailboating and racing, which is a growing and organized sport. A sailboat's sailing speed can be increased through improved hull design and sail technology, among other things.
The sail trim is a direct major influence on maximum boat speed. The headsail (genoa) trim is achieved by proper tension of the headstay or backstay and halyard, and in the case of a genoa also the location of the "genoa lead block" is important. All of these factors are influenced by wind velocity, point of sail, and wind direction. The adjustments are ongoing during a race, particularly with sheets (ropes) being under stress-loaded conditions as well as all gear. The sailor must be able to make optimum adjustments during these conditions in order to stay competitive in a race. Gear reliability is also a major concern during the race and must never be neglected.
Going upwind, for instance, will require a genoa block adjustment that is different than the one the sailor would use in a beam reach or a broad reach. All these adjustments resulting in sail attitude change can occur on the same tack under constant loaded sheet conditions. In order to stay speed effective, the sailor must change the sheeting angle of his lead block to his new genoa attitude. This lead block adjustment is needed to maintain optimum speed at a particular point of sail in relation to wind direction of the craft. The sailor may want to power up or spill wind in order to keep the sailboat on a flatter heel for better performance.
With my new invention, all these things can be achieved with the change of sheeting angle of the genoa or headsail lead block while underway by moving it forward or backward from micro to major proportions.
Any skipper familiar with sail trim will more often than not sail beyond his handicap to beat out the competition every time.
On larger crafts, these lead block changes could not be achieved without such mechanical help during optimum loaded conditions, unless the skipper would be willing to put the boat in "almost" irons position or change tack and then make the lead block change under no-load conditions and again come back to the original tack, and hopefully continue under optimum conditions if all goes well.
This option can be used but will probably result in a loss of position which is not desirable, when constant speed is of paramount importance.